Free verification tool

Check your cash buyer before you sign

A free 12-point check on any UK cash house buyer, including us. Get an instant verdict on the offer you have been given, then send us the contract and we will tell you exactly what is in it.

  • No cost, no obligation
  • Works on any buyer
  • Contract reviewed by the next working day

Step one: look them up on the public register

Type the buyer company name or registration number. We pull their record straight from Companies House and show you what is actually filed. We do not interpret it for you. These are the facts on the public record.

Step two: the 12-point check

Answer as honestly as you can, based on what the buyer has actually told you or given you in writing. If you have not asked yet, say so. Nothing you enter here leaves your browser until you choose to send it.

Who they are 24 points

Question 1 of 12 Can you find a company registration number on their website?

Usually in the footer or on a terms page. Every UK company must display it.

Question 2 of 12 Are they listed as a member on the NAPB website?

Check the member list at napb.co.uk/members rather than trusting a logo on their own site.

Question 3 of 12 Are they registered with a redress scheme such as The Property Ombudsman?

Redress schemes are searchable. This gives you somewhere independent to go if things go wrong.

The money 32 points

Question 4 of 12 Have they given you written proof of funds dated within the last 30 days?

A current bank statement, or a letter from their solicitor confirming the money is in the account today.

Question 5 of 12 When you asked whether it is their own cash in their own account, what did they say?

This single question separates a direct buyer from a broker, a lead generator, or someone using borrowed money.

Question 6 of 12 Have they asked you to pay them anything at any stage?

Valuation fees, admin fees, survey fees, refundable deposits. Any of them.

The offer 26 points

Question 7 of 12 Is the offer in writing with a specific figure?

A number in an email counts. A range quoted on the phone does not.

Question 8 of 12 Roughly what percentage of your property open market value is their offer?

Genuine direct buyers typically offer 75 to 85 per cent, because they absorb stamp duty, holding costs, legal fees and resale risk.

Question 9 of 12 Have they confirmed in writing that the offer will not be reduced unless a survey finds a specific undisclosed defect?

This is the written protection against a last-minute price cut. It costs an honest buyer nothing to give.

The paperwork 18 points

Question 10 of 12 Have they asked you to sign anything before making a formal written offer?

If you are not sure what a document is, that is exactly what step three is for.

Question 11 of 12 Are you free to walk away at any point up to exchange, with no charge?

A genuine direct buyer has nothing to lose by confirming this in writing.

Question 12 of 12 Who is paying your legal fees, and who chose your solicitor?

A buyer covering your fees is standard. A buyer picking your solicitor is not.

0 of 12 answered

What your answers tell us

    Reviewed by the end of the next working day

    Send us the contract and we will tell you what is in it

    Whatever you have been asked to sign, send it to us. We read it against the ten clauses that cost sellers money, and we come back in writing with what each one means for you. Free, no obligation, and we will tell you if it looks fine.

    Max. file size: 50 MB.
    Consent

    This is a commercial review by an experienced property buyer. It is not legal advice and we are not solicitors. We always recommend you have your own solicitor look at anything before you sign it.

    Why we built this

    Most sellers who call us have already spoken to two or three other companies. They have a figure in their head, a name on an email, and no way of telling whether any of it is real. The cash house buying sector in England and Wales is not regulated by any government body, so there is no register you can check that tells you a buyer is legitimate.

    So we built the check we would want if it were our house. It works on any buyer. It works on us. If you run it on SmoothSale and you do not like what you see, do not sell to us.

    What your verdict means

    The check scores twelve answers out of 100. Some answers are hard stops, which means they force the red verdict no matter how well the buyer scores everywhere else. A single fatal answer should never be diluted by eleven good ones.

    This buyer checks out (85 and above)

    Everything you have told us is consistent with a genuine direct cash buyer. There is nothing here that would make us tell you to slow down. Get anything still outstanding in writing, have your solicitor read the contract, and you are in a strong position.

    Gaps to close before you commit (55 to 84)

    Nothing here says walk away, but there are things you have not been given or have not yet asked for. Close the gaps below before you sign anything. An honest buyer will not object to a single one of them.

    Stop. Do not sign anything yet (under 55, or any hard stop)

    What you have described matches the pattern we see when a seller is about to lose money or lose control of their sale. Do not sign, do not pay, and do not hand over any documents until someone independent has looked at this.

    The ten clauses we look for in a cash buyer contract

    When you send us a document, this is what we read it against. Each one is a real term that appears in agreements sellers send us, and each one shifts risk from the company onto you.

    1. An option agreementGives the company the right to buy your property without any obligation to actually complete. They can walk away. You often cannot.
    2. An exclusivity or lock-out periodStops you selling to anyone else for a fixed period, usually while they try to find someone to fund the purchase.
    3. An RX1 restrictionA restriction registered against your title at the Land Registry. It can block a sale to anyone else until it is removed.
    4. An assignment or novation clauseLets them sell your agreement on to a third party. The company you signed with is not the company that buys your house.
    5. Withdrawal, abort or admin feesA charge for changing your mind. A direct buyer using their own money has no reason to need one.
    6. An open price adjustment clauseAllows them to reduce the price without defining what would justify it. This is the clause that makes a last-minute price cut contractual rather than just unpleasant.
    7. No defined completion dateAn agreement that binds you but leaves their side open-ended.
    8. Automatic renewalThe exclusivity period rolls over unless you actively cancel it in a specified way within a specified window.
    9. A requirement to use their solicitorYou should always have your own. A buyer covering your legal fees is normal. A buyer choosing your solicitor is not.
    10. You pay their costs if you withdrawTurns walking away into a bill, and gives them leverage over you at the point you most need to be free to say no.

    We ran the check on ourselves

    It would be strange to publish a verification tool and then decline to be verified by it. Here is how SmoothSale answers every question on this page, with the evidence you can check independently.

    SmoothSale, operated by PLH Capital Limited
    Companies House number
    13115021Verifiable
    NAPB member
    Listed at napb.co.uk/membersVerifiable
    Redress scheme
    The Property OmbudsmanVerifiable
    Source of funds
    Our own cash, in our own account
    Proof of funds
    Provided on request, before you commit
    Upfront charges
    None, at any stage
    Option agreement or RX1
    Never used
    Legal fees
    We cover yours, you choose your own solicitor
    Walking away
    At any point up to exchange, no fee

    I would rather a seller ran this check, decided we were not for them, and went elsewhere with their eyes open, than signed with us because they did not know what to ask. The companies that damage this sector rely on sellers not knowing which questions matter. So here they are, all of them, and the answers we give.

    Jack Pirondini, Director, SmoothSale
    What this is, and what it is not

    This is a commercial review by a company that has bought property for cash for over a decade. It is not legal advice and we are not solicitors. We will tell you what a clause does and what it has meant for sellers we have spoken to. We will always tell you to have your own solicitor review anything before you sign it. We will not tell you that another company is dishonest. We will tell you what their document says and let you decide.

    Questions we get asked

    Will you tell me not to use the other company?

    No. We will tell you what is in the document you have been sent and what each term means in practice. Plenty of contracts we read are perfectly reasonable, and we say so. The decision is yours and we are not going to pretend to be neutral about wanting your business, which is exactly why we stick to describing the document rather than judging the company.

    Is this really free, and what is the catch?

    It is free and there is no charge at any point. The reason we do it is straightforward: sellers who understand what they are signing tend to end up working with buyers who have nothing to hide, and we are one of those. Some people who use this go on to sell to us. Most do not. Both outcomes are fine.

    What happens to the document I upload?

    It is stored on a private server that is not reachable from the public web, it is read only by the person carrying out your review, it is never shared with any third party, and it is permanently deleted after 90 days. You can ask us to delete it sooner at any time by emailing us and we will confirm when it is done.

    How long does the contract review take?

    You will have a written review by the end of the next working day. If the document contains an option agreement, an RX1 restriction or an assignment clause, we will call you the same day rather than wait, because those three are time sensitive.

    Can I use this if I have already signed something?

    Yes, and you should. Send it anyway. We will read it and tell you what your position is, including any notice or cancellation provisions in the document. If you have signed something you now regret, the first thing to do is find out precisely what it says.

    Does a Companies House record prove a cash buyer is genuine?

    No. Anyone can register a company for a small fee, so incorporation proves nothing on its own. What the register does show you is how long they have existed, whether their accounts are overdue, who the directors are, and whether there are charges registered against the company. None of that is conclusive. All of it is worth knowing.

    Everything else worth knowing before you sell